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Ugandan Proverbs (151-190)

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Those who waste time only hurt themselves.
Those who arrive to the spring first, drink the purest water.
Though the leopard is fierce, it does not devour its cubs.
Until the old moon disappears completely, the new moon cannot come.
Until the snake is dead, do not drop the stick.
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Walking in two is medicine.
What the chief likes is not always what the youths like.
What an elder can see while sitting, a child cannot see while standing.
What you recognize as deadly will not kill you.
When a lion roars, he does not catch game.
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When the leg does not walk, the stomach does not eat.
When your finger is in pain, your sight is not lazy.
When the webs of the spider join, they can trap a lion
When the soup sours, the orphan gets an unusually large amount.
When an enemy digs a grave for you, God gives you an emergency exit.
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When an elephant combats, it is the grass that suffers.
When the lion gets old even flies attack him.
When weeds invade the land, it means the owner is absent.
Where there is peace, a sickle can be used to shave your beard or cut your hair.
Where the cattle does not graze, the warriors pass.
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Who made the drum knows best what is inside.
Who guards two termite hills, returns empty handed.
Who wakes and rises at the first cry of the songbird collects the best fruit of the night.
Who mistrusts everybody is the real enemy of the village.
Wind makes more noise among the trees.
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Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it.
Without effort no harvest will be abundant.
Women give birth with other women.
Work done in the right way rewards both the employer and the employee.
Working in the fields is hard, but hunger is harder.
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You can hide a mark on your skin, but not a defect.
You do not teach a giraffe to run.
You can not take away someone's luck.
You suffer from smoke produced the firewood you fetched yourself.
You cannot hide the smoke of the hut you set on fire.
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You cannot teach the old gorilla the road.
You don't need pain killers for another man's headache.
You would not entrust an old cooking pot to the care of a friend or associate.
Youths talk first and then listen, the elderly listen and then talk.
Youths look at the future, the elderly at the past, our ancestors live in the present.
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